International and regional experts also weighed in on comprehensive approaches to cardiac rehabilitation, with a special focus on E-Health.

Participants at the second edition of the Singapore Prevention & Cardiac Rehabilitation Symposium, organised by Singapore Heart Foundation.

Back for its second edition, the Singapore Prevention & Cardiac Rehabilitation Symposium (SPCRS) brought together international and regional experts to discuss the most up-to-date information and strategies in cardiac rehabilitation. Organised by the Singapore Heart Foundation, this year's two day symposium was centered on the theme 'Advances in Cardiac Rehabilitation for Improved Health: Special Focus on E-Health'.

Giving his keynote address at the symposium, Professor Hugo Sayner, Director of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, Swiss Cardiovascular Centre said, "Demographic changes, progress in medicine technology and regional problems to provide health care to low density populations are posing great challenges to our healthcare systems. Rapid progress in computer sciences and information technologies have a great impact on the way healthcare will be delivered already in the near future. An important challenge for those involved in these new technologies will be to keep the main focus on patient's individual needs and to carefully evaluate the evidence behind the practice."

During the session, Adj Asst Professor Tan Swee Yaw, Director of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Preventive Cardiology, National Heart Centre, Singapore spoke about his local experience in E-health. He elaborated on how one could utilise different mobile and health apps to keep track of one's health as part of their cardiac rehabilitation journey.

In addition, Dr Yeo Tee Joo, Consultant Cardiologist, National University Heart Centre, Singapore spoke about the status of cardiac rehabilitation in Singapore. According to the World Heart Organisation's Statistical Profile of Singapore in 2012, Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death in Singapore - killing four thousand and two hundred people then. In 2014 to 2016, a Ministry of Health report revealed that close to one-third of deaths were related to heart diseases.

While cardiac rehabilitation is provided in most hospitals, the participation rate is dismally low, at 9.7%. This figure is based on discharge figures for Ischaemic heart disease patients in Singapore.

During the session, he spoke about how the burden of heart disease in Singapore is high, and suboptimal referral rates, inadequate human resources and patient commitment contribute to dismal cardiac rehabilitation participation in Singapore. He added that nation-wide collaborative efforts are imperative to highlighting the importance of cardiac rehabilitation and improving allocation of resources.